1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quick release apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a quick release apparatus to which a lock, such as a conventional padlock can be attached to prevent an item, such as a bicycle fork or bicycle seat post, from being disengaged.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Quick release mechanisms have become prevalent for use in securing bicycle wheels in place, and are finding increasing use in releasably securing seats to bicycle frames. Such quick release mechanisms typically have a hollow shaft, a skewer extending through the shaft, a nut on one end of the skewer, and a lever arm on the opposite end of the skewer. The lever arm can be pivoted to tighten or loosen the mechanism. For a bicycle wheel, the lever has a camming surface so that, as the lever is pivoted, the camming surface engages or disengages the adjacent fork blade.
A major drawback to such quick release mechanisms is that they make the bicycle and/or the wheel an easy target for theft. In order to prevent such theft, various mechanisms have been designed to lock the quick release mechanism. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,337,587; 5,598,959; 4,951,487; and 4,621,873 all disclose such locking devices. The devices taught by these patents have numerous disadvantages. In particular, the mechanisms are either complex, and therefore expensive, or are easily defeated. Furthermore, if the locking mechanism is too complicated and difficult to utilize, it will defeat the original purpose for the quick release mechanism, namely, the ability to rapidly assemble and disassemble the respective parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,587, to Davidson teaches a locking apparatus and gripless nut for securing quick release mechanisms. The Davidson device, however, requires significant extra hardware, and is therefore more expensive and difficult to operate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,487 to Sheils Dennis relates to bicycle wheel lock mechanism which utilizes a rectangular metal plate having two holes, one for accommodating the skewer, and the other for accommodating a padlock. The plate is positioned so that the shackle of the lock fits through the second hole and around the lever arm, to prevent the lever arm from being rotated. The mechanism can be defeated by rotating the lever arm and the plate together so that the plate, lever and padlock come off the skewer together.
Weinstein, U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,873, discloses a quick release assembly with integral lock. By making the lock integral, the mechanism is considerable  considerably more complex and expensive. Furthermore it is less versatile in that it can not be used with a conventional padlock.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,959, to Lorensen et al., pertains to an article-carrying rack with lockable mount. This device is also much more complex and employs an integral lock along with an intricate securing mechanism.
The forgoing and other deficiencies of the prior art are addressed by the present invention which is directed to a lockable quick release mechanism which is simple to attach and remove, makes theft extremely difficult, and is inexpensive.
The lockable quick release mechanism of the present invention replaces skewers for fork mount-style bike racks currently on the market, such as a 9 millimeter skewer. The locking mechanism utilizes a cam lever similar to the cam lever of a conventional quick release skewer having an external cam. The mechanism has a shaft which extends through and beyond a barrel nut, fitted in the cam lever so that it will provide interference with a padlock when locked. The cam lever has a lock hole for the padlock, and the cam lever has a curvature which, when locked, will stop the lever from being rotated more than a few degrees due to interference with the fork blade. A cam follower is provided on the shaft and has anti-rotation tabs, which fit into the clevis of the cam lever, which engages the camming surface of the cam lever and further prevents the cam lever from being rotated in the locked position due to the amount of friction between the cam follower and the fork tip. A spring is provided to bias the cam follower against the camming surface at all times thereby preventing a fork from being mis-positioned between the cam follower and the camming surface.
An object of the present invention is to provide a quick release locking apparatus which is of simply  simple construction, and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release locking apparatus which can be used with a conventional padlock.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release locking apparatus which is applicable to bicycle forks, seat posts, car top cargo carriers, surf board supports, or other items requiring positive locking.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release locking apparatus which is extremely theft resistant.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release locking apparatus which prevents mis-positioning of a bicycle fork.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release locking apparatus which operates in a manner similar to conventional skewers and is therefor familiar to the user.